As a retiree, Geraldine Lee could be kicking up her feet and taking life slow, but her mind is on a constant whir about what she can do to serve others.

Already she is toying with the idea of going on various mission trips. “Cooking, cleaning, playing with children – whatever needs help, wherever needs an extra pair of hands,” said the 72-year-old of her retirement plans. 

Meanwhile, she spends some of her days travelling by public transport from her home in Woodlands to visit homebound seniors from her church – an endeavour that requires much time and effort given her ageing body.

“But why not?” she asked cheerily. “I’m just thinking: What can be done? What can I do?”

A life of service

“What can I do?”

This question has undergirded Geraldine’s life since she chose to follow Christ on her 21st birthday.

It was what led her to become a missionary in her 20s. She spent three years on board Operation Mobilisation’s (OM) ship and floating bookstore, Logos; two years in India and eight years in Pakistan.

Asked about what led her into missions, she shared that she never experienced a distinct call.

“Whenever there was a need, I just responded,” she told Salt&Light.

Upon returning to Singapore from Pakistan due to family issues, she took up a degree in early childhood education and served in the sector for 15 years. At 58, she retired from the role.

She went back to Pakistan, hoping to serve there as a missionary again. However, she saw that the Christian community was flourishing.

“The need for me as a foreigner was not much, and I wouldn’t be very effective there. So I thought: In what other ways can I help?”

She returned to Singapore and co-founded Starfish Asia (Singapore). The not-for-profit organisation raises funds and awareness for Starfish Asia, which supports Christian-based schools in Pakistan.

Starfish Asia empowers Pakistan’s disadvantaged Christian children through education. Photo courtesy of Geraldine Lee.

Started by Mike and Kristen Wakely, Geraldine’s missionary friends from OM, Starfish Asia empowers Pakistan’s disadvantaged Christian children in city slums, villages and brick kiln communities to escape poverty through education.

According to recent reports, more than 26 million children in Pakistan aged five to 16, representing about 36% of the school-age population, are not enrolled in school. Among these children are Christians, a minority group that suffers discrimination and prejudice.

Starfish Asia (Singapore) currently supports six of the 46 primary, middle and secondary schools that Starfish Asia partners.

Receiving an education helps disadvantaged children to break out of the poverty cycle. Photo courtesy of Geraldine Lee.

Apart from helping to raise funds and awareness among believers in Singapore about Starfish Asia, Geraldine spent her retirement years going to Lahore, Pakistan, twice a year – for a month each time – to provide training for teachers. 

“Whatever I could do to help out,” said Geraldine, who officially stepped down from her role earlier this year.

An enriched life

Looking back at her life of service, Geraldine tells Salt&Light that it has been her great joy.

“When I think of my own background, coming from a very disadvantaged family, it’s really a privilege that God would want to use me,” she said. 

She grew up with an absent father and lived in a small servant’s quarters with her sister’s five children and her mother, who worked as a cook.

So when she was told as a young adult that Jesus had come to give her an abundant life, it appealed to her.

“My interpretation of an abundant life in that day was having my own HDB flat,” she said with a laugh. “But God has given me far better.”

Serving God and others has deeply enriched her life, she explained. “God doesn’t really need me, but He wants me to be there, to do certain things in my life.”

Apart from helping to raise funds and awareness among believers in Singapore about Starfish Asia, Geraldine (centre) spent her retirement years going to Lahore, Pakistan, twice a year – for a month each time – to provide training for teachers. Photo courtesy of Geraldine Lee.

As she lives in obedience to Him, she has also seen how He has provided for her abundantly. She did get to buy her own HDB flat in the 1970s, which she later sold at a profit, giving her the funds for retirement.

“That was how the Lord had been saving up for me. I always tell the new ones (missionaries): ‘You don’t worry about finances. If the Lord has really called you into the field, know that God will provide. He will always provide – and abundantly’,” she said.

Known by God

While she has since handed over the operations of Starfish Asia (Singapore) to a team from her church, she remains invested in the ministry, having seen its fruits over the years, including students who landed respectable jobs in the community due to the education and scholarships that they had received.

“I’ve said my goodbyes during my last trip in October, but we’ll see how God calls,” she said, when asked if she will continue making trips to Pakistan.

For now, she is constantly on the lookout for how else she can help. She said: “There are so many things that can be done. It’s only whether am I available to do it, and will I obey?”

Asked what made her willing to give up the dreams and goals for her own life in exchange for God’s mandate to love others, she explained: “I’m a very simple woman. I strongly believe that God my Father has a purpose and a plan for me.

“Psalm 139 says that when I was in my mother’s womb, He knew me. I’m known by God, He knows my name, and that has been very precious to me.

“Who is God? God is God. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. So to be a child of God, to me, is a privilege.

“God has my life in His hands. I don’t have to worry.”

About Starfish Asia

Children at a school supported by Starfish Asia. Photo courtesy of Geraldine Lee.

Starfish Asia currently supports 46 primary, middle and secondary schools, with a total enrolment of 9,000 children, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds. It also:

• provides scholarships for those who wish to pursue vocational courses and higher education,
• provides teacher training and resources,
• helps to improve school facilities,
• secures accreditations for the schools they partner with, and
• supports six homes in and around Lahore for disabled, blind and orphaned children. 

Starfish Asia (Singapore) is currently supporting six of the 46 Starfish Asia schools in Lahore, the country’s capital. 

If you’d like to learn more about Starfish Asia (Singapore), tap here.

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